Press

“Anyone can make an album in a bedroom with the technology that is available these days, but making one that people want to put on and listen to isn’t as easy as Sunley makes it seem. The album is friendly, it has some love, a little bit of heartache along the way – and is all round aurally pleasing to the ear and spirit. Sunley is another of Dunedin’s diamonds definitely worth checking out.”

“Downcast americana by way of New Zealand by singer songwriter Evan Sunley James. Makes me think of The Mekons take on similar terrain in places and that’s high praise indeed. Awash in alcohol and the landlocked seasickness of the sailor too long from the sea. Lonely and forlorn, uncertain and vulnerable, but resolute and standing upright to tell the tale. Vast as the sky, echoing personal histories of loss and love. Nice and varied too, smart and slightly removed, like something translated from another language.”

“Shuffling drums, smattered banjos, scratchy chugging acoustics and whimsical keys, Evan Sunley James has called in some favours from mates, and the results once again prove how impressive the Dunedin music community can be. Bringing a deep-South shoe-gazing aesthetic to alt-country, the Sunley band’s disarmingly low-key tracks seemingly drift into the ether. But, given a few spins, Apologies reveals sing-alongs riddled with lyrical profanity, subtly strummed narcissism and wry relationship musings. It’s a rare treat.”

“…a surprisingly effortless breadth of gravitas and good dollops of joy and melancholy in somewhat unequal amounts. The songs tug at your heart strings and yet at the same time there is a dry humour at the bitterness behind it.”